The global copper deficit may widen after 2017 as new mines are unlikely to be built. Global markets are likely to face a 500,000 tonne deficit by 2020, according to Javier Targetta, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
A Freeport spokesman expects a new wave of copper expansion to begin this year. Targetta says demand will catch up with supply in 2017: "Demand will grow at an average of just over 2 percent per year through 2020."
Targetta sees a copper shortage in the long term as new projects are unlikely to come into play. However, according to a report by the World Bureau of Metals Statistics, copper production exceeded demand by about 147,000 tonnes in 2015, the highest since 2009.
The global copper market expects a deficit of 500,000 tons by 2020
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